From Innocence
by DarkFaerieGirl
Summary: Adeline is only sixteen when she is sent to the streets to earn money for her fathers drinking problem. Her first customer? A certain pirate captain. Adult themes
1. Chapter 1

**From Innocence**

**Authors note: **This is the first story I started writing. I lost the file for a while and in that time I wrote others, obviously, because they are uploaded on here! But now I've found it and I'm going to continue it! Fingers crossed!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of this blah blah blah

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Adeline tugged at her dress as the two girls pulled her through the street. It was her sisters' old dress and so low-cut it was ridiculous. It had suited her sister with her over generous breasts and heaving chest but as Adeline tried in vain to pull it up a bit, she wondered why she bothered; it wasn't as if there was much to see anyway. She was the youngest of three girls, the older two heavily built with long blonde hair, Adeline was tall and slight with dark, almost black hair.

"Come on," urged Giselle, "or they'll only be the leftovers and that won't be pleasant for your first time I can tell you." She grimaced over Adelines' head at the other girl. Both knew just how unpleasant. The two older girls had been plying their trade for a few years now but it wasn't enough. So Adeline was being taken to the street at only 16 to keep up with her fathers drinking costs.

A similarly dressed girl emerged from a doorway and Giselle threw her a dirty look, "that's Scarlet," she said contemptuously, "watch out for her."

Adeline nodded, too nervous to talk. As they neared the alleyway, her hands shook and she started to chew her lip.

It wasn't an uncommon sight. Growing up in Tortuga Adeline knew all about sex from an early age; she had been surrounded by it for most of her life. However, she had never envisioned her first time as a way to get a handful of cash. She sighed as Giselle tugged her arm, breaking her train of thought. They had reached the alleyway. It was full of girls and women surrounded by sailors, drunkards and most of the men from Tortuga. Her sisters set themselves up along the wall with Adeline between them. They winked and threw suggestive glances at anyone who walked past; Adeline watched them in horror. Before long Giselle was approached by a sailor and she followed him off without a backward a backward glance. Adeline and her other sister, Katherine, were left by themselves. Adeline noticed a man in the crowd; maybe it was the way he walked that drew attention to him, or maybe it was the dreadlocks, red bandana and eyeliner. She watched him; he was by far the most interesting there. Suddenly he stopped, looked round and caught her watching him. He started to walk over. Adeline panicked. She turned to Katherine to find she had gone. Looking back at the man, he was still walking towards her; she desperately tried to dodge around a man with one ear and out of the alley but her foot caught in her too long skirts. She tripped, the ground rushing up to meet her. Then a hand grabbed her arm and caught her; a hand adorned with rings and covered in filth. She looked up; it was the man with the eyeliner.

"Alright love?" he asked.

Adeline nodded. He was very handsome she could see now. She studied his face; tanned skin, straight nose, kohl-lined eyes and a plaited beard. He noticed her staring and stood with a half grin, gold teeth gleaming.

"You like something you see love?" he said raising one eyebrow.

Adeline jumped and stuttered, "Yes, I mean no, I mean to say you're very good looking, I mean to some people..." she trailed off.

The man looked at her closely, he could see the fear in her eyes and he knew what it was. He would have to do this carefully.

"So love, want a drink?" he asked. It struck Adeline how much older than her he was. Then she remembered what her father would say and do if she returned home with no money. She nodded.

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Adeline watched from the corner as the man leant over the bar of the "Faithful Bride." It was smoky and dim but there was one hell of a racket as most of the occupants were brawling. The barman shouted over the noise, "Jack!" The man looked up quickly, pulling his hands away from the taps. The barman strode over, "how are you, Jack?" he bellowed.

"Not bad," drawled Jack, admiring his own rings, "an' I'll have two pints o' your finest rum." He glanced back at Adeline. The barman nodded at her.

"Who's the wench?" he asked, "never seen her around before."

"First timer," winked Jack. He picked up the mugs and tripped over to the table.

He handed Adeline a mug, which she accepted and took a sip, expecting ale in a mug that size. She spat the mouthful out coughing. "Rum!" she exclaimed.

"You don't like it darlin'?" Jack asked, reaching his hand out for the mug. She pulled her drink towards her, "yes."

Jack smiled into his rum. "Do you have a name love?" Jack enquired.

"Adeline," she replied, "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" asked Jack perplexed, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow! Everyone knows that." She looked unimpressed. He quickly elaborated, "captain of the Black Pearl, we're the most fearsome pirates in the Spanish Main." Adeline shrugged; she had heard it all before. Even her father used that one.

"You live in Tortuga darlin'," Jack told her, "you can't tell me you've not heard of me."

Adeline looked cynical, "I've heard of Captain Sparrow, yes," she replied. "But that doesn't mean you have anything to do with him."

Jack could tell she didn't believe him. He yanked up his sleeve and thrust his arm in front of her face displaying the tattoo on his forearm. She jumped but looked. She looked at his face again, then at his clothes. Maybe he was telling the truth.

"And how much am I expected to pay for this pleasure?" he asked, jolting her back to reality and reminding her why she was there. There was a sickly feeling in her stomach. Her sisters hadn't actually told her an amount. She shrugged; Jack raised his eyebrows, "Well we'll have to see how it goes love." They left their empty mugs on the table. Jack took her hand and led her out of the door.

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Jack led her through the streets, taking back-routes to avoid the general crush. He knew Tortuga well she could tell. He stopped outside a small, tatty inn and walked confidently through the solid, wooden door. He bowed her up the stairs as he tossed a coin to the doorkeeper. He placed a hand on her back and guided her through a door in her left, which led into a small room. The innkeeper was not too concerned about cleanliness Adeline decided. The bed was filthy, the low window was grimy and another door led to a blackened, reeking bathroom. Jack walked over to the bed and sat on it, patting the space beside him. Adeline hesitated a moment and then sat down there.

"There's nothing to be afraid of love," Jack whispered as he leant towards her. When she didn't pull back he leant further forward and brushed her lips with his. She could smell the rum. She didn't protest and he opened his mouth slightly urging her to do the same. When she did not he flicked her lips with his tongue causing them too part in surprise. He slowly explored her mouth and she shut her eyes and relaxed into the kiss. Gently he pulled away and began to softly kiss his way up her jaw line, tilting her head back with one finger. The other hand found its way to the front of her dress. Adeline jumped back. Then her eyes widened, "watch out!" she cried. A battalion of soldiers burst through the door, their red and white uniforms startlingly clean compared with the surroundings. Jack spun round, "oh bugger." He grabbed his hat and pistol, smashing the window with the butt of it. He grabbed Adeline's' hand and threw himself out of the window dragging her with him. They were falling! Then suddenly they weren't. They extracted themselves from some startled pigs and then they were running. Adeline could hear shouting and crashes behind her. In spite of the danger, she couldn't help laughing. "What?" asked Jack.

"You run so funny!" laughed Adeline.

"I do not," replied Jack indignantly.

Jack flung himself down an alley on their right, hauling Adeline behind him. They emerged on the docks and Jack stopped alongside a ship. He grabbed a rope and saluted to Adeline, "this is where I take my leave darlin'," he said.

"What?" exclaimed Adeline, "you can't leave me to the soldiers!"

"You're absolutely right love," he said. "But as I see no soldiers, I'll be going." He waved and swung himself up onto the deck. His crew had been ready for him and the ship was ready to sail. Adeline glanced round, a red-clad figure rounded the corner quickly followed by two more. She looked back at the ship; it was leaving. But trailing behind in the water she could see the mooring line. Someone had forgotten to make it fast. She heard a shout; the soldiers had spotted her. She needed no more encouragement. She ran forward and threw herself off the quay into the water, arms outstretched to grab the line. She caught it and hung on. The soldiers had aimed their bayonets; they fired and Adeline flinched as the bullets struck the water around her. But the wind had increased and they were soon out of range. Slowly, wearily, Adeline began to pull herself up the rope until at last she heaved herself over the stern and collapsed in a heap on the deck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: **The Dutch West India Company actually existed. It was a sister company to the East India trading company.

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Jack was pacing his cabin.

"Soldiers?" asked Gibbs in horror, "In _Tortuga_?"

Jack nodded, "aye, it's a crying shame."

"It is that," replied Gibbs. He shook his head and swigged from a hip flask. He looked up as Ana Maria kicked the door open. "Captain," she said, "you might want to see something."

"Something that requires you to burst into my _private _quarters?" Jack asked.

Ana Maria just motioned with her head. Jack sighed and followed her out onto the deck.

She led him onto the quarter deck. There was a girl lying against the railings behind Cotton who was holding the wheel. He crouched down beside her and brushed the hair off her face; it was the girl from Tortuga. "Oh bugger," he said again. He straightened up, "err, Ana Maria, you look after her, then we'll drop her off next time we make port."

Ana Maria quickly protested, "I'll be too busy, do you want this ship to fall apart just because I had to look after another one of your whores?"

Jack caught the venom in her voice and knew why it was there. They had a history of course. Jack had a history with most of the women in the Caribbean. It had been along time ago.

_Ana pickled up the basket of dry washing and carried it into the house. Her mother was sick and the chores were down to her now. She placed the basket down and went into the other room of the two room house. Her mother lay on the dirty, thin sheets. Her eyes were shut and her brow furrowed in pain. She was asleep but tossed and murmured in fitful dreams. Ana watched her mother with tears in her eyes but none fell. A bang on the door jerked her back from her thoughts. She angrily dragged her ragged sleeve across her eyes and went to open the door. Outside stood two soldiers. They frowned at her._

"_By declaration of the Dutch West India Company this…house…is being repossessed to pay off your unpaid taxes which have escalated over a year. You have two days to vacate the house. If you fail in this, you will guilty of thievery from the empire and will face hanging." They turned and started to walk away. Ana Maria ran after them and grabbed their sleeves. "Please," she begged. "My mother is sick, she can't be moved. I'll get you the money." One shook her off in disgust and tried to leave. The other looked at her, he was young and he hadn't been with the company long. "Mr Bourke, sir," he started but the other man cut him off._

"_It's the way it is," he snapped, "you can't go getting attached to every waif that crosses the path of the law."_

_The younger man turned back to Ana Maria, "I'll see what I can do but I can't promise anything. Have the money by the two-day deadline and you should be alright. The older man shook his head and walked off, the younger man rushing after him._

_Ana Maria had tried. But she'd wanted to stay clean; she didn't want to end up like the women who stood on street corners with dead eyes and bottles of liquor, pleasing any man who wanted it as long as there was a coin in the deal. She'd tried everything else though; selling flowers, then pastries, fishing from her boat, begging in the streets and from neighbours, singing in bars, but when the time came the money she'd raised had not been enough. The soldiers had called and she had offered them her savings. One had laughed, "You'll be lucky, you couldn't buy the door for that much." They had arrested her and her mother and put them in a cell to await their fate the next morning. Her mother had died in the cell. And Ana Maria was alone. In the cell next to her she could see a man sat against the wall with a hat over his face. He was so still she wondered if he had died too. But as she watched he sat up and took the hat off his face almost as if he had felt her staring. He was dark skinned although not as dark as her and he had dark dreadlocks swinging underneath a red bandana and adorned with bead and trinkets. His clothes were rumpled and dirty but he carried them with an air that commanded attention. He studied her then said, "you're a bit young to be in here, what have you done?"_

_She bit her lip, "My mother had debts…"_

_The man nodded, "ah." He seemed to understand. With nothing else to do Ana Maria tried to keep the conversation going, "why are you here?" she asked. He grinned, "just a misunderstanding love."_

_She looked at him with narrowed eyes. Then it hit her, "you're a pirate," she said. The man laughed, "well done love." _

_She studied him wondering how she didn't realise earlier; the jewellery, eyeliner and tattoos. "What ship do you sail with?" she asked._

"_I'm the Coxswain on 'The Dark Dream," he replied proudly._

"_Coxswain?" repeated Ana Maria, "a junior officer?"_

_Jack coughed and looked put out. "Well, yes. But I am up for promotion and at least I have rank." Ana Maria nodded. _

"_The Dark Dream?" she asked, where have I heard that before?"_

"_It's the most wanted ship in the Caribbean love," Jack informed her. "We've attacked more vessels than all the bleedin' Navy ships put together."_

"_It sounds exciting," Ana Maria breathed._

_Jack grinned, gold teeth flashing, "it is love. I've spent most of me life on the deck of a ship. Free_._ Go wherever, do whatever. It's a hard life but its rewarding." His eyes were locked into hers, he could see it reflected in her eyes; the open ocean, the thrill of adventure. _

"_Take me with you," she whispered._

_Jack rolled his eyes, "in case you had forgotten darlin', we happen to be as of this moment in jail and scheduled to hang at first light. I don't think there's much of a chance that we will be going anywhere hmm?"_

_Her face fell and he tried to reassure her, "but no worries, if a plan comes to mind, you'll be the first to know!"_

_They stood side by side on the stage, above them nooses swung in the slight wind. The sky was grey and the air was chilly. Ana Maria clenched her fists to stop the trembling, her eyes were dry and her back was straight. Jack stood passively with his head down, trying not to be noticed. Someone on a podium began to read from a scroll but Jack ignored him; he was watching the executioner carefully. The man was surprisingly small for such a job with short, scraggly hair and stunted fingers. He was short and thin and getting on in years. _

_As it was so early there wasn't much of an audience, a squad of soldiers, a holy man and some fishermen who had got up to check their nets. _

_As the executioner stepped forward to place the noose around Jacks neck, Jack seemed to look upwards at the descending loop, then he jerked his head forward, striking the smaller man who crumpled onto the decking. Before the soldiers could react he had cut his ropes on the knife tucked into the mans belt and grabbed the still bound Ana Maria. As the soldiers leapt up the steps Jack jumped off the back and raced up the road with Ana Maria following him. She kept up with him the whole way to the docks and he was impressed. But when they reached its berth, the Dark Dream was gone. Obviously it didn't value its coxswain enough to risk hanging. Jack stood there, unsure of what to do next. Ana Mara, wrists still tied had elbowed him and motioned towards the village, "this way," she had told him and he followed her. She led him to her recent home, it had already been ransacked, her possessions gone but the house would now stand empty until someone saw fit to put it to use. And the soldiers wouldn't search there; surely no one would be stupid enough to escape only to return to their place of arrest…_

_That night Ana Maria gave up her childhood. And in the morning, Jack was gone. She ran down to the shore, her boat; her only means of escape, was gone. She cried then for the first time since her mother had been ill. Then she had pulled herself together, the soldiers would be looking for her. She crept back to the port and walked along the quay there was a merchant ship moored there. She looked round, no one was about and so she had snuck aboard. One day she would find him. And then he would pay._

_She had found him many, many years later, signed on as crew and had been with him ever since. The bitterness had faded but seeing Jack with other girls always brought it back up. They were just like her, to be used once and then forgotten._

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Jack sighed, "fine, I'm not leaving her for the crew, she'll have to stay in me cabin." Bloody girl, he thought, they always had to complicate things. He sighed again and lifted her up, her head leaning against his chest, and carried her back down into his cabin. He shook his head and motioned Gibbs over, "watch her for a while," he commanded. Gibbs looked at him in horror, "what? Why? Where are you going?"

Jack placed his hat carefully on his head and walked out the doorway, "I am going to empty several bottles of rum," he growled as he exited the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Adeline woke suddenly as she was thrown unceremoniously onto the hard floor awaking all her bruises. She jumped up cursing, looking for her father who would have been the one to throw her. The floor lurched under her feet and she over balanced and slammed into the wall. She could hear thunder and was that rain? The lantern hanging from the ceiling above her was swinging round and she could hear pounding against the wooden walls. She blinked and looked round, holding tightly onto a beam to stop herself falling again. She was in a dimly lit cabin. The bed she had fallen off was large and the sheets were rumpled, there were clothes on the floor and interesting boxes and containers piled against the wall. She wondered why they didn't crash over as the floor heaved and looked closer; they were strapped to the wall. Adeline frowned as she felt her wet hair, she looked down and saw her dress and remembered. She was on the Black Pearl with the man from the night before. Someone must have found her after she collapsed and put her in here. She nearly unbalanced again and staggered over to the door yanking it open. She was greeted by a face full of water as a huge wave struck the starboard side and the tips crashed onto the deck. She shook her head and blinked furiously. She could see men trying to reef the sails and Jack shouting at them from the bottom of quarterdeck as he battled with the wheel. A sailor rushed past and stopped when he saw her. He grabbed her arms and shouted above the thunder, "Get back inside miss."

"Gibbs," shouted Jack and the sailor let go of Adeline and rushed off.

Adeline fell again and decided it would be better if she did go back inside.

After slamming the door hard against the wind she dragged herself onto the bed and held on to the side so she wouldn't fall out again.

Adeline lay there for hours, unable to sleep thanks to the violent lurching and noise. When at last she decided that she wasn't going to lie there any longer and was going to go above deck whatever she was told, the door burst open and Jack walked in, clothes and hair dripping. Adeline sat up, keeping hold of the sheets for balance. Jack on the other hand seemed steady enough. "Awake then?" he asked her unnecessarily. He removed his long navy coat and dropped it on the floor. Then he lowered himself onto the floor and tugged his boots off.

"Err, why aren't you on deck?" Adeline asked timidly; if he had been at the wheel...

Jack sighed, "We've dropped canvas," he replied. "Now all we have to do is sit tight till it stops." He chucked his boots under the bed and started to take off his shirt. Adeline looked pointedly at the ceiling. Jack smirked, "now love, a girl like you must be accustomed to seeing naked men. And I am going to change in me own cabin so if you don't like it then you'll have to put up with it."

Adeline only heard the first part; "a girl like me?" she asked frostily.

Jack noticed danger signs and backtracked, "meaning, you're too pretty to be so inexperienced darlin,'" he added quickly. She narrowed her eyes but let it go. He removed his trousers and picked up a dry pair from the floor. Adeline couldn't resist peaking but he had his back to her. He grabbed a dry shirt and pulled it on too. Then he climbed onto the bed. Adeline looked at him, "you can't sleep on here aswell," she said.

"I think you'll find I can," Jack replied. "I've had three other girls beside meself sleeping on here at one time."

Adeline sighed and lay down with her back to Jack.

"That's not very friendly love," he teased.

"From what I've heard, you've been 'friendly' with too many girls," Adeline said and shut her eyes. Jack stared at the back of her head then turned onto his other side. Bloody ungrateful girl.

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Adeline woke the next morning to find the bed vacated. The space beside her was cold, Jack had long since gotten up. She sat up stretching then winced as she felt the bruises from the night before. She gingerly climbed off the bed but there was no lurching, only a gentle rolling. A lantern lazily swayed from the ceiling. Adeline squinted up at it, it was sputtering; it had nearly run out of oil. Having no way to tell the time of day she went to open the door. Then she stopped and looked down at herself. The dress was inappropriate to wear on a ship crewed by pirates; now she was free of her father and his money-making ideas she could stay as innocent as she liked. But that isn't going to happen if I walk about like this, mused Adeline. She pulled at the still damp fabric. It was torn in many places and the colour was indeterminate. She felt her hair; it was salt-encrusted and had clumped into spiralling strands that were a poor resemblance of her usual curls. She could imagine the state of her face, she had lined her eyes with blue kohl to match the dress and it would have run. She tried to use the sheet to wipe her face which worked but left blue smudges on the sheet. Adeline looked guiltily round before realising that the sheet wasn't exactly clean and a few new smudges didn't make much difference.

The enclosed cabin was starting to make her feel claustrophobic. She was used to sleeping in rooms smaller than this but at least she'd been able to get outside. Suddenly annoyed she cast around for anything to wear in the cabin. There was nothing on the floor except a few empty bottles; Jack was surprisingly tidy. Adeline tiptoed over to a chest against the wall. It was latched shut and made of plain wood. She fumbled with the latch for a few seconds, flashes of guilt through the annoyance. Then it clicked open. There were only papers inside, not wanting to read private documents or letters she shut it again and moved onto the next one which was quite a bit larger. Adeline raised her eyebrows; Jack obviously had a private store of rum in his cabin. She wasn't interested in that one either; she had enough trouble keeping her balance without the added hindrance of alcohol. The next chest however yielded results. She smirked as she pulled out a nearly clean shirt and a pair of breeches. Adeline peeled off the dress with difficulty and dropped it on the floor. She started to unhook her corset but then noticed how thin the shirt was and changed her mind. She stepped into the breeches and pulled on the shirt; both were too big. The shirt was almost a dress and the breeches fell down when she let go of them. Jack wasn't so large; they must have belonged to someone else, she thought. She delved back into the chest but there were no belts and nothing as clean as what she was already wearing. Sudden inspiration struck and she tore the bottom off the shirt so it just covered her buttocks and threaded it through the belt loops in the waistband of the trousers. Adeline smiled in her success.

"I see you're making yourself at home," said a male voice behind her. She spun round, Jack stood in the now open doorway, his arms crossed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note**: Sorry about all the delays, I really have had loads to do and I was diagnosed with bone cancer back in December so I haven't been particularly motivated to write. Hopefully I can drag my computer into hospital with me and continue to write while I'm there – I seem to spend most of my life there now. Ah well, lets escape into fiction.

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Adeline looked from the open chest to her dress pooled on the floor. "Er..." she started. Jack strode into the cabin and shut the chest.

"I usually prefer it when people ask," he said.

Adeline shuffled her feet. "I'm sorry, I was only looking for something to wear..." She gestured towards her outfit. The corner of Jack's mouth twitched, "And I was enjoying having a girl on me ship," he sighed. "I prefer the dress darlin.'"

Adeline could see he was teasing her, "Oh really?" she responded playfully. "Was that because it reminded you of my class and elegance?"

Jack grinned; "no, it was just lower cut."

Adeline stalked out of the door in mock annoyance.

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There hadn't really been much for her to do. Jack had shown her over the whole ship, including a trip to the head which she didn't particularly enjoy. On the other hand it didn't really smell much worse than the back alleys of Tortuga. After that she'd tried to sit up on the deck but had only managed to get in people's way. Gibbs had told her she was a distraction to the men and suggested she go back to Jacks cabin. In a defiant attempt to prove that she couldn't be ordered about, Adeline had remained where she was. That was until a tall, scrawny sunburnt man had approached, grinning widely showing his broken teeth. As he got closer Adeline had decided that Jacks cabin was actually quite comfortable and had removed herself.

Now she sat on the bed watching the lantern swing. She glanced at the chests against the wall again. They were very intriguing, but she wasn't going to go through Jacks things again...

But it wasn't as if she was looking to take anything, she told herself. She stood up and walked up to the closest chest. It was padlocked. Adeline frowned and moved onto the next one; it was locked too. She quickly crossed the room to look at the chests she had opened that morning. All locked. Someone had come in since and made sure there was no way she could search them again. Her eyes narrowed, Jack obviously had no confidence in her however much he tried to hide it behind pretty talk. Frowning, she stormed towards the door intent on finding Jack and demanding an explanation. She was half-way across the cabin before sense reasserted itself. These weren't the most feared pirates in the Spanish Main for no reason. And if she went complaining to Jack about the locked chests then he would know she had tried to open them. Adeline grimaced as she realised how nearly she had proved herself as untrustworthy as the pirate suspected. She was still cross but now it was with herself; if she hadn't rummaged around before then she would have something to do now. Some of the anger transferred to Jack, it was his fault she was stuck here for god knows how long with nothing to do and nowhere to go. If he hadn't dragged her off… No, that wasn't fair, she was the one stood with the street women in a barely functional dress. Adeline shook her head confused, she had escaped her father thanks to Jack, but also thanks to Jack she was trapped in the cabin of a pirate ship with no control over anything that happened to her. Now she thought about it, it all stemmed back to her father. She couldn't blame it all on Jack. She remembered his roguish grin and smiled to herself. Maybe she should be nicer to him if he was in charge and it helped that he was handsome. He said he preferred the dress she remembered. Maybe she could clean it and do some sewing? She frowned as she fingered the material, it really was beyond recovery. Adeline sighed and dropped the remains of the dress back onto the floor. She pulled on a lock of her hair as she thought and pulled a face as she felt the salt-encrusted strands. Washing her hair would be a start. She started towards the door once more.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: **Very late again I know. Sorry and all that… Feeling a bit sorry for Adeline though. Or not. Lucky bitch! Although, to be honest, its not a particularly nice decision :S

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Jack raised his eyebrows at the girl before him, "water?" he asked amused, "you want water to wash your hair?" Adeline nodded hopefully. Jack smiled at his boots then looked up at Adeline again, "bloody hell luv, the water's there to drink. We don't carry extra just so's you can wash your hair. If we carried extra water, where'd we put the rum?"

"That's disgusti -" started Adeline then bit her lip; she was supposed to be being nice to him.

Jack laughed, "we're pirates luv, what do you expect?" Adeline tried to smile but it turned into a grimace. Jack took pity on her, "look," he said, "we'll be making port in a few days, we'll leave you there and I'm sure there'll be plenty of taverns where you can have a wash."

"What?" Adeline almost shouted.

Jack frowned, ungrateful girl, "I said, there'll be plenty of -"

"I know, I heard that," cut in Adeline. "What do you mean 'your going to leave me there?'" she demanded.

"You don't think I'll be letting you stay on me ship now are you luv?" Jack asked incredulously. "I mean, you're a stowaway as it is," he reminded her. "You haven't worked your passage, you boarded without my knowledge or consent. You'll be leaving at the first port we come to."

She stared at him with her mouth open. "You… you BASTARD," she screamed at him.

Jack inspected his nails and ignored her, he was used to girls shouting at him and he liked girls with spirit.

When he didn't respond Adeline lowered her voice, "but you can't abandon me…" she told him with a lot less conviction then she would have liked. Jack gave her a roguish grin.

"I've done it before," he reminded her.

Adeline thought furiously. "What if I worked my passage then like you said," she asked finally. Jack looked at her with more interest and smirked.

"Well what are you suggesting then?" he asked.

"Well, er, um…" Adeline stalled for time, trying to subtly glance round the ship for inspiration. She caught sight of a pirate wearing a badly ripped shirt, "I can sew!" she offered triumphantly. Jack laughed openly.

"All sailors can sew, luv, though none of them seem to bother about it."

"Or I can cook…" she offered without much hope. Jack laughed again.

"No need to cook hard-tack, luv," he replied. "Ever been on a ship before, darlin'?"

"No…"

"Then you'll be no use on deck," he told her, "is there really nothin' else you can offer?" Adeline caught sight of his grin and the twinkle in his eye and knew what he meant. Damn she thought. Damned pirate! She might have known that something like this would happen. Just because he'd found her on a street corner didn't make her a bloody whore. Although, thinking it through, maybe it did. She could tell Jack was enjoying himself, but then what choice did she really have. It was either get left alone in a strange town, a port to boot which meant it would be all the rougher, or stay aboard the Pearl as some pirates' personal prostitute. Then again, she had grown up in Tortuga, she could take care of herself. But she had known every alley back home, which neighbours would hide you and keep their mouths shut and which neighbours would sell you out for no good reason at all. She couldn't really survive on her own in an unfamiliar town for long, not without falling under the thumb of slavers or other such types. Better the pirate you know than the one you don't she mused. Fine, she thought crossly, I'll play along and I'll win too, see if I don't.

"Captain Sparrow, surely you aren't trying to take advantage of a poor innocent girl?" she asked playfully. "You can't mean what I think you do."

"And what might that be?" Jack retorted, responding to her by stepping forward and brushing her cheek with the back of his fingers.

"Something that seems to be available at every town, port or not, but often difficult for a pirate to find free of charge…" Adeline half whispered, avoiding the question.

"Difficult to find? I don't think you know me that well, darlin'" Jack told her, amused.

"Well I'll do my best," Adeline replied and left him stood there while she tried to stroll casually to the starboard rail.


	6. Chapter 6

Authors Note:

**Authors Note: **Not particularly happy with this chapter… It will have to do as I have written three different versions of it and they're all just as shit  I guess I can't picture stories when I'm tired. I'll try and make up for it with the next chapter.

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Adeline held tightly onto the rail to steady herself. She must have been mistaken but being so close to the pirate had quickened her pulse and left her breathing heavier than usual. Stupid girl, she told herself, it's only because he's so bloody good looking. And he'd made it pretty clear; work your passage or you'll be abandoned again. Hell, he'd blackmailed her, she was cross with him wasn't she?

A footstep behind her made her jump round, it was Jack. She looked so pretty with her long dark hair blowing over one shoulder and her eyes wide, Jack thought. She'd have earned a lot of money if she'd stayed back home, but Tortugas' loss was his gain, he supposed with a wry smile. Jack Sparrow wasn't one for letting an opportunity pass by and when the girl insisted on remaining on his ship, he wasn't going to waste the chance. And even if she did jump ship when they made port, he had her for a few days yet…

He leaned over the rail next to her and stared out at the sea. "What you looking at, luv?" he asked, indicating the expanse of water.

"Just watching the spray," Adeline replied as she turned back round to gaze seaward once more. She was painfully aware of Jacks' arm draped over the rail next to hers and tried her hardest to pay attention to what he was saying.

"A ship's a beautiful thing, luv," he told her, "you lose control of her and she'll do her own thing and like as not you'll be headed down to Davy Jones' locker. But if you get the touch right she'll respond right and do anything you want." His eyes were dark and burning into Adelines', she didn't think he was talking about the Pearl. One of his hands came up to brush her face again and the other had snaked its way round her waist. He leaned in towards her, their lips an inch apart, "a ship has to be looked after, cared for, serviced, before she can…perform…to the best of her capabilities," Jack whispered. Adeline closed her eyes as her lips met Jacks', his mouth was soft and tender, the hand that had brushed her cheek was curling round behind her neck as their mouths moved together. Without breaking the kiss he turned her gently so her back was against the rail with his hands holding onto it on either side of her, pressing her between his body and the side of the ship. Her arms snaked up round his neck and she gave herself up to the moment.

A sudden cry overhead of "land-ho!" brought Adeline back to her senses. She gasped and pushed Jack away. He frowned up at the lookout far above him, bloody pirate, he thought, of course there was going to be land visible, they were making for a bleeding port weren't they! Just because land could be seen didn't mean they would reach it for days. Jack made a mental note of the sailor; someone was going to find themselves on lookout duty for a lot longer than they expected.

He turned back to Adeline but the look in her eye made him hesitate, he'd had more than his fair share of slaps from women…

"I'm not your personal slave you realise," she said fiercely. Jack almost rolled his eyes then thought better of it. But she noticed the attitude anyway, "I mean it. This whole thing started because of you making that mistake."

"Well you were hiring yourself out on a 'pay me and I'll co-operate' sort of basis," he informed her. "And I believe this 'whole thing' as you put it started because you couldn't stand to lose me and boarded my ship without my or me crews' knowledge."

"What?" Adeline demanded, outraged, "You abandoned me to those soldiers who were only after me because they found me with you. That's how it started."

Jack opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a voice behind him.

"Captain, there's something you need to deal with. Two men are fighting over your little play-mate here." It was Ana Maria, barely disguising the contempt as she glanced at Adeline. Jack grimaced and turned to follow her. Before he walked away he looked back at Adeline, "think about it; you were willing to whore yourself out to any passing stranger to support your fathers drink problem, but you won't consider something a lot less degrading to save your own skin. I'm not going to force you, you can make your own choice."


End file.
